China Getting Serious About General Aviation?

(by Russ Niles – AvWeb) – After about a decade of saying it was going to happen, China has laid out its plans to create a general aviation segment and it has clearly learned from the experience of others as it lays down the basic infrastructure. According to china.org.cn, the Civil Aviation Administration will “complete a low-altitude flight service system consisting of a national information management system, seven regional information processing systems and a group of flight service stations.” The system will take care of flight planning, weather, NOTAMs and search and rescue for GA.
“The plan is fundamental, systematic and service-oriented. It’s an important part of our country’s overall aviation reform and is crucial to the development of the general aviation industry,” Xu Hao, director of CAAC’s air traffic regulation office, told a news conference on Friday. Although the federal government will be in overall charge, local jurisdictions will be encouraged to take part in the system’s creation. Although China has invested heavily in overseas general aviation companies, it’s virtually unable to accommodate many types of GA under its regulatory system. It’s currently allowing GA below 3300 feet. “The current low-altitude flight service is unable to meet the needs to effectively develop and utilize low-altitude airspace, which is why such reform is necessary,” Xu said. China intends to have a fully developed GA airspace system by 2030.

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